When does the Communion Chant begin? What is the purpose of the Communion Chant? (86)While the Priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion Chant begins. While the Priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion Chant is begun, its purpose being to express the spiritual union of the communicants by means of the unity of their voices, to show gladness of heart, and to bring out more clearly the “communitarian” character of the procession to receive the Eucharist.
 
When should the Communion Chant end? The singing is prolonged for as long as the Sacrament is being administered to the faithful. However, if there is to be a hymn after Communion, the Communion Chant should be ended in a timely manner. Care should be taken that singers, too, can receive Communion with ease.

What are the options for the Communion Chants? (GIRM 87) In the Dioceses of the United States of America, there are four options for singing at Communion:

(1) the antiphon from the Missal or the antiphon with its Psalm from the Graduale Romanum, as set to music there or in another musical setting;
(2) the antiphon with Psalm from the Graduale Simplex of the liturgical time;
(3) a chant from another collection of Psalms and antiphons, approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop, including Psalms arranged in responsorial or metrical forms;
(4) some other suitable liturgical chant (cf. no. 86) approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop.

This is sung either by the choir alone or by the choir or a cantor with the people. However, if there is no singing, the antiphon given in the Missal may be recited either by the faithful, or by some of them, or by a reader; otherwise, it is recited by the Priest himself after he has received Communion and before he distributes Communion to the faithful.

How should the faithful receive Communion? (GIRM 160) The Priest then takes the paten or ciborium and approaches the communicants, who usually come up in procession.

What else would communicants do beside “come up in procession”? Communicants could line up and instead of approaching the Priest, the Priest would approach the communicants.

Can the faithful grab or “take” the consecrated Bread or sacred chalice? It is not permitted for the faithful to take the consecrated Bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them on from one to another among themselves.
 
Why can’t we “take” the Sacrament? We are not taking, but rather receiving this “gift of self” which is Christ Himself. We are the Bride, who with humility and openness receives our Groom.
 
How should we receive Christ? The norm established for the Dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum,March 25, 2004, no. 91). When receiving Holy Communion, the communicant bows his or her head before the Sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister. The consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant. When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverence is also made before receiving the Precious Blood.

What is said and what is the response at Communion? (GIRM 161). If Communion is given only under the species of bread, the Priest raises the host slightly and shows it to each, saying, The Body of Christ. The communicant replies, Amen, and receives the Sacrament either on the tongue or, where this is allowed, in the hand, the choice lying with the communicant.

Is receiving in the hand allowed in the Dioceses in the United States? Yes, but this is not the preference of the Universal Church, but rather an exception made for the Dioceses in the United States.

What should we do after we receive the host? Are we allowed to chew the host? As soon as the communicant receives the host, he or she consumes the whole of it.
 
Who should distribute Communion? (GIRM 162) In the distribution of Communion the Priest may be assisted by other Priests who happen to be present. If such Priests are not present and there is a truly large number of communicants, the Priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, that is, duly instituted acolytes or even other faithful who have been duly deputed for this purpose.
 
Can a Priest ask someone on the spot to distribute Communion? In case of necessity, the Priest may depute suitable faithful for this single occasion.
 
When should ministers distributing Communion approach the altar? These ministers should not approach the altar before the Priest has received Communion, and they are always to receive from the hands of the Priest Celebrant the vessel containing the species of the Most Holy Eucharist for distribution to the faithful.
 
What happens to any hosts or wine that happen to remain? (GIRM 163). When the distribution of Communion is over, the Priest himself immediately and completely consumes at the altar any consecrated wine that happens to remain; as for any consecrated hosts that are left, he either consumes them at the altar or carries them to the place designated for the reservation of the Eucharist. Upon returning to the altar, the Priest collects the fragments, should any remain, and he stands at the altar or at the credence table and purifies the paten or ciborium over the chalice, and after this purifies the chalice, saying quietly the formula Quod ore sumpsimus, Domine (What has passed our lips), and dries the chalice with a purificator.
 
What should the servers do at this time? If the vessels are purified at the altar, they are carried to the credence table by a minister. Nevertheless, it is also permitted to leave vessels needing to be purified,
especially if there are several, on a corporal, suitably covered, either on the altar or on the credence
table, and to purify them immediately after Mass, after the Dismissal of the people.

What happens after the vessels are purified? (GIRM 164) After this, the Priest may return to the chair. A sacred silence may now be observed for some time, or a Psalm or other canticle of praise or a hymn may be sung (cf. no. 88).

Can any other chants, hymns, songs be used during Communion? (GIRM 88) When the distribution of Communion is over, if appropriate, the Priest and faithful pray quietly for some time. If desired, a Psalm or other canticle of praise or a hymn may also be sung by the whole congregation.

Should there be silence after Communion or music? It depends if silence is “appropriate” and if music is “desired”.

Who decides if it is appropriate or desired? The Priest
 
If a Psalm, canticle of praise or hymn is sung, why does it have to be “sung by the whole congregation”? So that the song does not become a performance.
 
What happens after the music or silence? (GIRM 165) Then, standing at the chair or at the altar, and facing the people with hands joined, the Priest says, Let us pray; then, with hands extended, he recites the Prayer after Communion. A brief period of silence may precede the prayer, unless this has been already observed immediately after Communion. At the end of the prayer the people acclaim, Amen.